Site of 1910 Bethlehem Steel Strike
Bethlehem, PA, Feb. – May, 1910
On Feb. 4, 1910 steelworkers at Bethlehem Steel went on strike because of low pay (12.5¢ hr) and excessive work hours. Over 97% of steelworkers worked at least 10 hours a day, 51% worked 12 hours or more, and 29% worked 7 day weeks with no extra pay.
The owner of the plant, Charles Schwab, demanded the sheriff break up the strike. Sheriff Preston then had the governor call in the State Constabulary, known as the “Cossacks” to the workers. On Feb. 24 the troopers charged into a crowd of onlookers, beating men, women and children, including the police chiefs’ wife. The disturbance found its way to a hotel where troopers shot a bystander who was getting a glass of wine for his pregnant wife’s upset stomach.
As the strike wore on the strikers received almost no support from local clergy. The business community denied them access to meeting halls. Saloons and bars were threatened with loss of liquor licenses if they allowed strikers access. Threatened with starvation, the strike was called off after 108 days. Conditions in the plant were not improved, wages stayed the same and overtime was still necessary to make a living wage.
